Delinquent Letter

      Esteban's tio shoved a letter in his face first thing in the morning.

     "What is this?" he said.

     Esteban had no idea, but he tried to make sense of it, because he had to, apparently.

     He opened it up. It looked like a scam, initially, like one of those scam letters credit card places send you to trick you. But it had a Wells Fargo letterhead and had a notice at the top.

     "You're payment is delinquent," it said in bold letterhead. "Make arrangements immediately or action so that you will vacate the below address will commence."

     Esteban looked down. His father's address was there, with a total due at the bottom. Esteban owed $15,357, and it was all past due. He didn't think his father had more than seven or eight hundred dollars to his name. How was it possible?

     He called, but there was no answer at the house.

     He thought of calling the market, but why? He'd meet his father later. He'd ask him what all this meant. Of course, he was pretty sure what it meant. It meant to bank was taking the house, after only eight months. Where would his father and mother and little brother live?

     Where would they move all their stuff? So much to do. It seemed silly to go to school that day, but there was no choice, he guessed. No choice but to pretend as if all this wasn't happening and just go through the motions.

     His tio wouldn't let it alone, though. He kept shoving the letter back in his face every time he put it back down on the counter, so, not knowing what else to do, Esteban shoved it in his backpack and ran to the bus stop.

     He just barely made it before the school bell rang.

     In his biology lab, he thought about what it could mean for his future. He didn't see any way around dropping out of school. He knew his dad would fight it, but how could he make a bunch of money really quickly and also go to school at the same time?

     He decided his dad would just have to listen to him for now and let him take over for a second.